The next morning came and we woke up to rain. But determined to see the sunrise we forced ourselves to get out of bed and make the 20 minute hike to the top of a peak to see the sunrise. (Mt. Huangshan isn't like a normal mountain. Once you reach the top there are tons of smaller peaks to climb and explore.)

It was an interesting experience, we climbed up to this peak with hundreds of other Chinese tourists, in the dark. There were people pushing from all directions and of course there are no guardrails.... When we reached the top there were people everywhere, so Jessica and I stepped of the path into the woods to try to find a clear spot to see the sunrise. We found a place to wait and there were people around everywhere screaming and yelling and talking. The guys behind us were talking about how tall they were... It was strange because this could of been an incredibly moving moment to be on top of this mountain and seein this sunrise, but it was ruined by the noise

. I only wish I could have been here before it was overun by tourism. There was just no appreciation for this beauty that we were experiencing. As soon as the sunrise was "over" people scrambled to climb back down, not realizing that the best part was still to come, as the sunrays filtered through the trees. I cannot say I wasnt glas to see them leave. Jessica and I explored some more and then each went out seperate ways.

I climbed further up this peak. The steps were nearly vertical at some points. It was good to be alone, to be able to breathe in the air and to hear yourself think. The beauty atop this peak was once again breathtaking. At the top I met three Chinese woman, one being a monk. I talked to them a little and they showed me the path I should take to get down.

Five minutes down the the peak my ears were once again filled with screams and yelling and the majesty of the mountain was again lost. Silence is so precious in a place like this, it is amazing how something so beautiful can be ruined by noise.

I got back to the hotel and met up with everyone else and we planned a trail to take to get back down. We decided to hike to one of the cablecars and take that down. There is not much to say about this part of the hike, the pictures explain it so much better. However, we did learn one thing, "sometimes you have to go up a whole lot of stairs to actually be going down." We saw many more great views and met many more people. One lady wanted her picture taken with me with the moutains behind us. It was quite interesting.

It took us about four hours to get to the cable car and it was a beautiful sight. We were all glad to not have to climb anymore stairs.